The Beauty of the Dream
by zookitty
Summary: Tag for Menace. "You did not just compare me to the Goa'uld!" A look into the opposing views of Daniel and Jack. I thought they bothed deserved a voice.
1. Daniel's Side

**AN: **Tag for Menace. It's quite short, but I like how it turned out. Thanks to Sydneywoo for giving me the courage to actually post this one hehee

**Spoilers: **For menace only

* * *

_"The beauty of the dream vanished and breathless horror and disgust filled my heart." –Mary Shelley_

There was hardly anyone in the mess hall when Jack walked in. Teal'c and Sam were over at a table, talking in subdued tones. But it was the figure across the room that caught the Colonels attention.

Daniel poured the coffee into a mug, his eyes staring transfixed into the dark liquid.

"Daniel," Jack greeted, the archeologist just turned and strode over, parking beside Teal'c. As the Colonel followed, whatever conversation that there had been ended. "I did what I had to." He could feel the Jaffa's piercing gaze on him, but Daniel didn't look up. "I would do anything to protect this world."

"That's funny," Jackson replied, his eyes finally meeting Jack's. "I always thought what made us different from the enemies we're fighting was that we weren't willing to do _anything. _That we knew when to draw the line." He slowly rose to his feet, but Jack wasn't about to let him leave yet.

"You did not just compare me to the Goa'uld….to the replicators!"

"Did you not just kill someone you knew was innocent?" Daniel tossed back.

"She wasn't human Daniel!" O'Neill yelled. "You know what…you draw your lines, I'll save the world."

"How many more will you kill before you recognize the weight of your actions?" With that the archeologist left, turning his back on his long time friend.

_How guilt once harbored in the conscious breast, Intimidates the brave, degrades the great._ _–Samuel Johnson_


	2. Jack's Side

**AN: **Aww no reviews. A little disheartening, but I really love this episode...and this story. So please everyone, show me some love, it would make me very happy. Look I even posted the chapter when promised!! -grins-

I just thought Jack could use a chance to explain himself.

* * *

**Jack's Side**

_Loyalty means nothing unless it has at its heart the absolute principle of self-sacrifice. –Woodrow T. Wilson _

Jack loosened his laces, letting his shoes drop with a satisfying thud. He'd meant every word he said. Reese was a volatile machine with way to much power. The Colonel would do it again in a heart beat. He would do anything to protect the world, but more than that he would do anything to protect Daniel.

The idiot genius had a way of befriending some of the most questionable characters, but Jack drew the line at psychotic android.

Killing Reese was as easy for him as killing the replicators. They weren't human and he wouldn't…couldn't see them that way. The hard part came in looking into Daniel's eyes as the tears welled up in them.

Daniel had a way of seeing the invisible good inside these _things_. Each time the archeologist trusted blindly he set himself up to get hurt, and more often than not he did. But Jackson still continued to trust, and place faith into people—things—that could never live up to it. Jack refused to look for the good in Reese if it meant endangering his world…and endangering Daniel.

If he had it to do over again, the Colonel couldn't see anything he would have done different…except maybe not letting Carter wake the thing up in the first place, or not letting Daniel get so close to it. Who was he kidding? Daniel would have got close to it no matter what he said. That was Daniel, and it was that quality that made him invaluable to SG1. But it was Jack's job to make sure the ones with hearts not as pure as the archeologist—or the ones without hearts at all—didn't betray that trust. It was a job O'Neill never consciously admitted to having, but took seriously none the less.

If Daniel wanted to piss about it, then fine.

_Unless you can find some sort of loyalty, you cannot find unity and peace in your active living. –Josiah Royce _


End file.
